Sisterly Love
by TombRaider
Summary: Entire story has been edited and re-uploaded. Also has been cut for content. New scene added.
1. Something's Wrong

Author's note: Sisterly Love has been completely reloaded and edited a little for content. For the compete, uncut version, check out my homepage **http://mine.at/thelair** or **http://mine.at/mblow0t5** Enjoy!

Sisterly Love

Something was wrong. Lara knew it the second she stepped out of her car onto the Croft property. The huge iron gates of the Croft manor swung in the breeze. Lara looked around. The gates were never unlocked. Something was wrong.

Lara pulled a knife from her black boot. Holding the small blade by her side she walked to the front door. The door was ajar. Lara raised the knife and pushed it open. She peered inside. No one was in sight and nothing looked out of the ordinary. Lara kept her knife out as she stepped inside.

Hillary, her butler, was laying motionless on the floor of the living room. A silver tray and a broken mug that once contained tea lay by his body. Lara ran over to him, quickly checking for a pulse. There was one. Hillary was only unconscious. Lara stood, looking around for Bryce. She saw him, by his computer. His head resting on the keyboard. Lara sighed. She was back.

There was only one person who would have done this. Lara walked into the dinning room. There she was. Sitting at the head of the table, facing Lara, a smirk on her face and mischief in her brown eyes. She was dressed all in black, heavy combat boots on her feet, which had found a resting place on the table. She was sitting with her hands folded neatly in her lap, the perfect picture.

"What are you doing here?" Lara asked. She was in no mood for this.

"Is that anyway to greet your sister?" The woman smirked.

"Half sister." Lara corrected. "And last time I looked, it wasn't considered polite to break into someone's house and render the inhabitants unconscious."

"Oops." The woman said. "Must be because I'm nothing but an ignorant American. Not fit to reside with a British lady such as yourself."

"Tristen, I have never treated you any differently then any other members of my family. I have even offered you a place to stay in the manor."

Tristen narrowed her eyes, annoyed that Lara was right.

"So what do you want this time Tristen? Money?" Lara knew that wasn't the reason Tristen had re-entered her life. Tristen was doing fine on her own as a singer, the only reason Lara mentioned it was to annoy her.

"No." Tristen said flatly. Lara could tell that she had accomplished her task of annoying her. "I want you to stay away from Alex West." Tristen got up from the table and walked over to Lara, her comical expression gone and her normal, angry glare returning to her face.

"What are you talking about? I can bearly stand Alex West as it is."

"Don't give me that bullshit." Tristen snapped. "I've seen the way you look at him. He's mine now, so back off."

"By all means, go right ahead Tristen. I will not be the one to stop you." Lara turned and walked out of the room. She knew Tristen would find her own way out. She always did.

"Hold on, I'm not done talking to you yet!" Tristen shouted.

Lara ignored her and continued walking. She went upstairs and located a medical kit to treat Bryce and Hillary. When she came back down stairs Tristen was gone. However, she had left several spray painted phrases across the dinning room. Lara shook her head. Tristen always was immature.

***

"Hold on a minute, Lara." Bryce said, touching the lump on the back of his head. "You're telling me that you've got a half sister? I thought you were an only child."

Lara, Hillary and Bryce were sitting in the living room. Lara was curled up on a chair. She had to explain to Hillary and Bryce why they had been rendered unconscious. Hillary knew who Tristen was, however, Bryce had only started working for Lara for a little over a year and she hadn't told him about her half sister yet.

Lara cleared her throat. "After my mother died my father had an affair with a poor girl who lived in America. My father supported her until he found that she was seeing several other people. At the time she knew she was pregnant with Tristen, but she didn't tell my father. When I was thirteen and Tristen was seven Tristen's mum went after my dad. She had resorted to prostitution and decided that she had a better life being my father's mistress. She threatened to tell the tabloids if he didn't support them. My father agreed, he had to. But when my father died she had no one to black mail and she committed suicide."

"What happened to Tristen?" Bryce asked.

"I'm not sure. She went to a foster home, I suppose. When she turned eighteen she ran away to New York City and started her career as a singer, which is what she's still doing today." Lara said.

"What did she want this time?" Hillary asked.

"She told me to stay away from Alex West."

"That'll be a difficult task, won't it?" Bryce quipped.

***


	2. Bad days and broken glass

Author's note: Sisterly Love has been completely reloaded and edited a little for content. For the compete, uncut version, check out my homepage http://mine.at/thelair or http://mine.at/mblow0t5 Enjoy!

***

Lara took a dainty sip from her glass of champagne and continued to admire the Michelangelo original that hung on the wall of the ballroom. She smiled, thinking about how she had 'acquired' the piece from an art thief. Although, when she had donated the piece to the museum for posterity she had no idea that it would end up in the private collection of the museum curator.

"Lara Croft." 

The familiar voice shook Lara from her thoughts. She turned and found herself face to face with none other then Alex West. She gave him on of her dazzling smiles.

"Hello Alex. I hope you're having a good time." She said. The museum's curator held a private party once a year to show off his amazing art collection. Lara had been a close friend of his for years, as for Alex, Lara had no idea how he got on the guest list.

"Yeah, great." Alex murmured, studying Lara's curves, which her classic black dress clung to.

"Are you here alone, or did you bring your wallet to keep you company?" Lara asked.

Her words immediately stopped his admiration of her figure and replaced his dazed expression with one of annoyance. Lara usually had that effect on him.

"You know Lara, there is more to me then my love of money." He said.

Lara's gaze traveled to his crotch.

"Yes, I know."

Alex went from annoyed to embarrassed. He glared at Lara, wondering how she could stay so calm and collected. Sometimes he wanted nothing more then to beat her at her own game. Which was something that kept him interested in her.

"Alex," before Lara could recognize the voice, Tristen took Alex's arm, holding him tightly and glaring at her sister. "Come on," she said, talking to Alex but giving Lara a death glare. "I want you to meet someone." She said.

"Sure, honey. Oh, have you met Lara Croft?" He asked Tristen. "She's a Tomb Raider."

"We've met." Lara said, flatly. Lara couldn't help but want to break Tristen's nose._ How immature could she possibly be? _Lara thought, angrily.

"You've met?" Alex asked, looking very surprised. Tristen didn't bother to answer as she began to drag him away from Lara.

***

Lara touched up her lip gloss in the bathroom mirror. She fixed her dress and was about to walk out of the small bathroom when suddenly, Tristen burst in. She was furious.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Tristen snapped.

"What is your problem now?" Lara asked. Apparently, talking to Alex West was now a crime punishable by law. According to Tristen anyways.

"Stay the hell away from Alex West." Tristen snapped.

"Don't come to me with an attitude, Tristen. Your boyfriend is the one who needs questioning. He came over to talk to me." Lara said, beyond annoyed with her half sister.

"Yeah, sure he did." Tristen spat.

"Tristen, grow up." Lara pushed past her and walked out of the bathroom.

***

"Lara? How is the party going?" Hillary asked.

Lara balanced her cell phone between her shoulder and her head as she pulled her full skirt up and walked down the elegant stair case to the garden that was outside of the curator's lavish house. Her cell phone had gone off as exactly the right moment. A nearly drunk Duke of Edinburgh had cornered her and began explaining to her just how much he _loved _her dress while not taking his eyes off of her cleavage. Lara was seconds away from showing him her left hook when her cell phone rang.

"Lara? Are you there?" Hillary asked.

"Yes, Hillary." Lara responded. She massaged a sore place on her neck and looked around the large but empty garden.

"How is the party going?" He asked.

"Well, Alex and Tristen are here." Lara said.

"Oh no. What happened?"

"Alex approached me and began to chat, then Tristen showed up and dragged him off."

"Hm, I never thought that Alex would be whipped." Hillary smirked. "Bryce will be very interested to learn this."

_"Ooo! Not like that!"_ Lara glanced around, trying to locate where the voice had come from. She had figured that she was alone in the garden.

_"You ripped my nylons!"_

_"Would you just be quiet? You talk enough as it is." _

Lara walked over to the left end of the garden where there was a very large walkway covered in vines. "Hillary, I have to go now. I'll tell you the rest when I get home." Lara said. She hung up the cell phone and slid it back into her hand bag.

_"Oh yes. More." _A voice murmured.

Lara glanced around the near pitch black of the walkway. She felt along the wall of the walkway until she located the light switch.

"Oh!" Lara froze when she realized who the voices were and what the voice's owners were engaging in. Alex, who had his pants down around his ankles, was holding Tristen, who had her skirt bunched around her waist, against the side of the walkway, rhythmically moving his hips over hers. 

Lara flicked out the lights and darted back to the house as fast as she could. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough. Tristen and Alex had already seen her. Lara went back inside the house, her face turning a bright red. _God, I have _never _been so humiliated. _She thought to herself. Before any of the other guests could talk to her, Lara gathered up her coat and informed the valet to bring her car around. _This was NOT a good night. _She concluded.


	3. A Simple Party

Author's note: Sisterly Love has been completely reloaded and edited a little for content. For the compete, uncut version, check out my homepage http://mine.at/thelair or http://mine.at/mblow0t5 Enjoy!

***

Tristen awoke to Alex massaging her one of her breasts. She smiled at him, pulling the sheets from their nude bodies and spread her legs invitingly. Alex was never one to pass up a sexual invitation.

"Hmm, that was a great party last night." Tristen said as Alex began to move inside of her.

"Do you always have to talk when we're having sex?" Alex asked. She was much easier to be with when she only opened her mouth to give him a blow job.

"Fine then." Tristen shoved Alex off of her and got off the bed.

"Come on, Tristen." Alex moaned. "Are you still upset that Lara caught us last night?"

"Well, if you weren't being so loud then she wouldn't have." Tristen snapped. She pulled on a sheer robe and walked out of the bedroom and over to the refrigerator in the tiny hotel room Alex had rented since he had bought a new apartment and had been informed he and Tristen wouldn't be able to move in for another week. Alex got off the bed, pulling his clothes on and followed her into the kitchen.

"Don't be like this, Tris. Let's not argue." He murmured, sliding his hands under her robe. "Come on, let's go back to bed."

"I can't, Alex. I have to perform later and I still have some things to do. I don't have time." Tristen responded, slapping his hands away.

"Do you want me to come watch you sing?" Alex asked, realizing that he wasn't going to be getting his morning dose of sex.

"If you want to." Tristen shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Oh, okay, cause Sam wanted to see me about a few jobs later tonight."

"Yeah, should I wait up for you?" Tristen snapped, giving him a particularly dirty look.

"What are you mad about now?" Alex asked.

"Why should I be mad? You're only blowing me off so you can go get drunk with your friends."

"I'm not blowing you off, you said that you didn't care if I came to see you or not."

"So then you can run off with your buddies and leave me home all by myself?"

"Look, do you want me to come to see you sing or not?" Alex demanded. Tristen was getting on his last nerve.

"I don't care." Tristen snapped.

"Then I'm not going to go." He said.

"God, you are such an asshole!" Tristen shouted. "I don't even know why I'm dating you!"

"Ditto!" Alex shouted back.

"Get out of here!" Tristen shouted, pointing towards the door.

"You're throwing _me _out?! Who the hell paid for this place?!" Alex demanded.

"I hate you!" Tristen shouted for lack of anything more intelligent to say.

"Go to hell, Tristen." Alex grabbed his jacket from the pile of clothing that lay on the floor and stormed out of the hotel room, slamming the door behind him.

"Alex!" Tristen shouted after him. "Alex!" He was gone. "Fine then!" Tristen shouted, tears welling in her eyes. "Just go away!" Suddenly, she realized that she was alone. Tristen ran to the door, opened it and looked around frantically. Alex was gone. Tristen walked back inside, crying.

"Don't leave me, Alex." She sobbed. How could he be mad at her? He was so mean to her and she never did anything to him. She kept telling herself how much she deserved someone much, much better then him. Who did he think he was talking to her like that anyways? _I'll show him to treat me like that. _She thought. Tristen took a large metal serving spoon from one of the kitchen drawers and walked into the bedroom. She held it above her head and swung it at the large mirror that hung over the dresser. She hit it again and again until there was nothing left of the mirror. She picked up one of the jagged pieces of glass and walked into the bathroom.

_He's going to regret hurting me. _Tristen thought. _He's going to be so sorry. _She used the piece of glass to slice into her arm.

***

"Hello?" Lara asked after she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Lara? This is Richard." A deep voice said.

"Hello Richard. What can I do for you?" Lara asked, her heart skipping a beat. She set the TV dinner Hillary had microwaved for her down on the small end table, giving the caller her full attention.

"Are you busy tomorrow night?" He asked.

"No, I'm not."

"Well, would you like to go out to dinner with me?" He asked.

"I would love you."

"Excellent!" He smiled. "I know the perfect place. I'll pick you up around eight then."

"I'll see you then."

"Oh, and Lara, the dress code is formal, so I suppose I'll receive the rare pleasure of seeing you in a dress."

"I suppose you will." Lara smiled. "I'll see you at eight." She hung up, smiling.

"Who was that?" Hillary asked, entering the room and raising an eyebrow.

"Richard." Lara said. "He's taking me out to dinner on Friday."

"Richard?" Hillary asked. "Richard the Duke of York?"

"The very same." Lara smiled.

"You like him, don't you?" Hillary asked.

"Well, I haven't grown tired of his company yet." Lara said, noncommittally. She did enjoy Richard's company and although they didn't have the connection she desired to have with a lover, she had grown terribly lonely over the years with only Hillary and Bryce to talk to. Sometimes she found herself awake at night thinking of Richard. . . . . . or Alex. Tomb raiding was the only way to get her mind off of her loneliness. 

"So, I suppose you'll need a dress to wear then." Hillary said, his voice cutting through Lara's thoughts, a smiling coming to his face as he began to think of ways to turn his unruly Lara Croft into a prim and proper Lady.

Lara shook her head at him. "Hilly, I have a dress." She told him. "I'm going to train a little before dinner. Please hold my calls."

"Certainly, Lara."

***


	4. Time to go get drunk

Author's note: Sisterly Love has been completely reloaded and edited a little for content. For the compete, uncut version, check out my homepage http://mine.at/thelair or http://mine.at/mblow0t5 Enjoy!

***

"Tris?" Alex asked as he entered the hotel room. He looked around, rubbing his eyes and looking around the hotel room for his girlfriend. "I'm back, Tris. Do you want to talk now?" Alex asked. He set his jacket down on the kitchen counter and walked into the bedroom, sliding out of his shoes. Tristen wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Tris?" Alex asked again. He heard a small whimper from the bathroom. "Where are you, Tris?" He asked, entering the bathroom. "Tristen!"

He would have frozen where he stood if he was a lesser man. Tristen lay on the floor of the bathroom in a pool of her own blood. Large cuts marked both of her arms. A bloody piece of broken glass lay next to her.

Alex acted quickly. He grabbed the clean towels from the rack and wrapped them around her arms, trying to clot the blood. He pulled Tristen against him. He pressed his head to her chest. Her heart was still beating. He began to gently shake her.

"Come on, Tris." He encouraged. "Don't die, honey. Come on, wake up."

After a few seconds, Tristen's eyes fluttered open. "Alex." She rasped. Tristen looked around. She began to cry when she saw all of the blood around her. "I'm going to bleed to death." She moaned. "I'm going to die, Alex."

"Don't say that, you're not going to die." Alex said. He picked her up and carried her to the bedroom, setting her on the bed and pulling his first aid kit from his suit case.

"Just calm down." Alex said. "I know what I'm doing." He said, confidently.

"I'm going to bleed to death." Tristen whimpered.

"Hush. Concentrate on me," Alex got a washcloth from the bathroom and wiped the excess blood from her arms. "Talk to me, Tristen." Alex said, he took out a small bottle of peroxide from the first aid kit. He glanced at his girlfriend. "Uh, this is going to sting a little."

"I'm sorry, Alex. I was just so upset and I- AH!" She cried out in pain when Alex touched the peroxide filled washcloth to her left arm.

"Why did you do this to yourself?" Alex asked, gently applying the washcloth to her right arm. Tristen closed her eyes hissing in pain.

"I got so scared when you left me." Tristen's eyes were filling with tears again. "I thought you didn't love me. Alex, never leave me, please." She gripped his arm, making him look her in the eyes.

"Okay, I promise." Alex said, looking into her eyes at the little girl inside of her. "I won't leave again." He took out gaze from the first aid kit and began to wrap Tristen's cuts in it. "Why did you cut yourself though?" He asked. He could understand that she was upset, but taking a piece of broken glass to her arms?

"I. . . I was upset." Tristen said. "I thought you didn't love me." She added. "No one else loves me."

"What are you talking about Tristen?" Alex asked. He had never inquired about her family before and knew nothing of her past. He finished

Tristen began to sob again. "She didn't love me, Alex. I just wanted love and no one loved me." She babbled. She finally collapsed against him, sobbing into his shoulder.

_"Bitch. Why the hell do I bother with you?"_

_"Are you drunk again, mommy?" The little girl asked, holding her teddy bear tightly in her arms, her voice quivering in fear._

_"F***ing bitch. You never did anything for me. I should have left you in the garbage, where you belong." The girl's mother swore._

_"Maybe you should go to bed, mommy. Then you can get better again."_

_"I have to prostitute to support you, you little bitch. You've never done shit for me. You should be the one prostituting your cunt to them. Have all of those dirty old men f*** you and put their stinking hands on you. That's what you deserve, you bitch. That's all you deserve."_

Tristen buried her head in Alex's shoulder and tried to forget the memories that pounded in her head.

***

The ringing telephone woke Tristen from her dream-like state. She reached over a sleeping Alex and picked up her cell phone, which lay on the nightstand. After a long dinner and passionate love making, Alex had fallen asleep. 

Tristen, however, lay awake, thinking about her mother and those years in her childhood that were spend in seedy hotels, listening to her mother and her latest customer, then to her teen years and the memories of the men her mother locked her in the hotel rooms with. Saying that they were paying top dollar for her, since she was underage. She remembered everything from those awful nights when they perverts thought her resistance was all a game and had actually raped her while they thought she was just teasing them.

The phone rang again before Tristen finally pressed the "talk" button. She pressed the cell phone to her ear.

"Hello?" Tristen murmured.

"Tristen!? Where the hell are you!?" An angry voice asked. "You were supposed to be at the Ivy three hours ago! What the hell is wrong with you!?"

It was her manager. Tristen grimaced and looked back at the bandaged on her arms. "I forgot. . ."

"You forgot?! FORGOT!? Listen Tristen, you are NOT a diva or even a decent performer, the ONLY reason men pay to see you is cause they like your tits. Do you hear me!? 

"Yes." Tristen murmured.

"If you're not here tomorrow night, then you can start looking for a new manager!" He screamed. Tristen hung up, her entire body shaking in sobs. She collapsed into Alex's arms, trying to hide from the world that hated her.

***

"My dear, have I told you how beautiful you look tonight yet?" Richard asked, smiling his flawless smile. He took her hand underneath the table, setting it on his lap and continuing to smile at her.

"Thank you, Richard." Lara said. In truth, the tomb raider was about to fall asleep. While Richard was a very sweet man, he was not the most interesting. Between his boring conversations full of lawyer speak and his lack of sexual attraction, Lara finally figured that she had grown tired of him. She tried to shake off her sleepiness and reached for her glass of wine.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention, please?" Lara and Richard looked up at a man dressed in a suite who was standing on a small stage, speaking into a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Ivy is very proud to present. . ." He paused dramatically. "Tristen!" 

_Tristen?_ Lara thought, frantically. Was she here? Was she performing here? Did Richard know? _Stop being paranoid. _She told herself. _There are other women in this world named 'Tristen'. _To Lara's horror the woman who emerged from the thick black curtains was none other then her own half sister. Tristen was dressed in a long black evening gown with a shameless slit up the front, no back and long sleeves. Lara left the room immediately. If not for the sheer embarrassment of having her own half sister parade herself nearly nude on stage, for the fact that the last time she had seen her, Tristen was engaging in sexual with intercourse with Alex West in the garden of a museum curator.

Lara stepped into the empty ladies room and collapsed into the nearest chair. Lara didn't understand. How could Alex West date her? She was immature, selfish, self absorbed and she wasn't even a good singer. Lara wrapped her arms around herself, she sounded jealous. _You are_. A stubborn voice stated.

_Jealous of what? Her lack of talent and her slutty appearance? _Another voice argued.

Alex. . . . . Lara held her head in her hands. How could she still be upset about him? It's been almost a year, she assured herself. Still, there was something about him that she couldn't resist. His smile, his over confidence, the way he looked at her. Before she could continue to chastise herself, the door to the bathroom swung open. Tristen stormed in.

"Well, this is a familiar scene." Lara said, slipping back into her normal coldness. 

"What are you doing here, Lara?!" Tristen shouted. "It's not enough that you have to try to steal my boyfriend, but now you're harassing me when I'm trying to work?!"

"Calm down, Tristen." Lara said. "I had no idea that you were going to be performing here. If I did I would have brought ear plugs. . ."

"You are such a bitch!" Tristen said, tears were welling in her eyes.

"Tristen, would you get a hold of yourself?" Lara snapped. She was in a fowl mood already from her hunger and her less then stellar date, Tristen was only making it worse.

"You bitch!" Tristen leapt at Lara, knocking off of the chair she was perched on and slamming her onto the floor. The back of Lara's head hit the bathroom titles with a sickening crack. Tristen relented, realizing that she might have seriously hurt her sister. Lara sat up, her head spun, she touched her scalp, looking for blood. Thankfully, there was none.

Lara looked back at her frightened sister. The sleeve of her dress had caught on one of the chairs and had ripped completely off when she tackled Lara. She hadn't noticed however, Lara looked over the bandages that covered Tristen's arms.

"Tristen? What happened to you?" Lara asked.

Tristen looked down. She burst into tears. The girl grabbed her missing sleeve and left the bathroom. Lara watched her leave. She touched the back of her head again, then got up slowly and walked back to her living hell of a date.

One thing she knew for certain. Something was bothering Tristen and Lara had the feeling that Alex West might be just the man to ask. She hated herself for caring about her. She felt that Tristen didn't deserve it at times, but she wasn't so cold hearted that she would let her own sister suffer.

***

"Well Lara, I hope you had a wonderful time." Richard said when he and Lara had reached the front door of the manor. He took her hands in his.

_Good night kiss time already?_ Lara thought. Perhaps a GOOD, good night kiss might be a little compensation for the horrid night.

"I had a lovely time." Lara lied, looking at him through her heavily lidded gaze. _Just kiss me. . . _

Richard leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek.

_Umm. . . That's not quite what I had in mind._

"Richard, not to sound forward, but we've gone on ten dates already. I think more then just a kiss on my cheek would be appropriate." Lara said.

"Well, if you think so." Richard leaned over and gave her a peck on her lips.

Lara, who was never satisfied easily, grabbed Richard, pinned him against the front door of the Croft manor and gave him the fiercest kiss he had ever received. When the kiss finally ended, Lara was laughing.

"W-what's so funny?" Richard asked, nervously.

"Good night, Richard. And don't bother asking me out on another date." Lara laughed. She slid into the house.

***


	5. Do the right thing

Author's note: Sisterly Love has been completely reloaded and edited a little for content. For the compete, uncut version, check out my homepage http://mine.at/thelair or http://mine.at/mblow0t5 Enjoy!

***

Tristen stumbled into the hotel room sobbing, later that night. Alex was in the middle of a poker game with Sam and Victor when she came in. Her dark eye make-up had run down her cheeks, her sleeve was torn and her bandages were already unraveling.

"Shit." Alex got up, pulling a sobbing Tristen into the bedroom. She huddled against him, clinging for him like she was holding on for dear life. "What happened, honey?" Alex asked.

Tristen couldn't answer due to her hysterical sobbing.

"Hey, Alex, we're going to show ourselves out." Sam said, gesturing to himself and Victor. 

"See ya later." Alex said, cradling Tristen against him. "Calm down, baby." He murmured. "It's okay, honey." He knew it was probably her manager. The man was an insensitive prick. Alex had witnessed him shouting at Tristen until she was almost in tears one day at rehearsal. When Alex confronted him the manager defended himself, saying that Tristen would work harder this way. Alex cuddled Tristen harder.

Finally, Tristen had calmed down enough to talk. She started babbling about Lara and rambled on about her being there on a date and that she thought Lara had come there to laugh at her. Even while Tristen was pouring her heart out to him, Alex couldn't help but want to hear more about Lara. He didn't know that she dated. He wanted to know more about the man that she was with, were they dating or just on a date? What did this man look like? What kind of job did he have? But he stopped himself, knowing that Tristen would be offended. For reasons still unknown by him, she hated Lara with a vengeance.

***

Alex drained his shot glass of vodka and starred blankly at the wooden table top of the bar. He ran his hand through his dirty hair and watched as the bartender came over.

"Do you want another one, mate?" He asked.

"Yeah." Alex muttered.

"You sure that's healthy?" He inquired, raising his eyebrow.

"Hey, I didn't ask you to lecture me." Alex snapped.

"Right. Sorry, mate." He proceeded to refill the shot glass.

Before Alex could drink the alcohol someone slid into the seat beside him. He glanced over and to his horror he discovered the person next to him was none other then Lara Croft.

"Oh God, what are you doing here?" He moaned. The _last_ person he wanted to see in his misery was the woman he desired with all of his heart, but couldn't have.

"It's lovely to see you too, Alex." Lara answered.

"Why are you bothering me?" Alex asked.

"Well, I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Is something wrong with Tristen?"

"Is there something _right_ with Tristen?" He countered.

"Hmm, good point." Lara said, thoughtfully. The server caught her eye.

"What will you have, love?" He asked, eyeing her figure.

"Rum and coke." Lara answered.

"Ooo, are you going to get drunk with me?" Alex asked, smiling at the woman who sat beside him.

"Why would I want to do that?" Lara asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Well, when we're completely trashed we could go get a room upstairs and have a night of great sex and forget about it by morning." Alex suggested.

"No, thank you." Lara said, politely. "If I have great sex, I prefer to remember it."

"I'll bet." He said, a delirious smile spreading across his face.

"So, what are you doing here anyways? Where is Tristen?" Lara asked.

"Tristen threw me out." Alex scowled.

"What did you do?"

"Screamed another woman's name in bed." He said, sheepishly.

"Ooo, the cardinal sin of dating." Lara said, slightly amused. "Who's name did you call out?"

"Yours." Alex said.

"You're lying." Lara murmured.

"No, I'm not. I was fantasying about you, then I accidentally screamed your name."

"Why were you fantasying about me?" Lara asked, wondering if he was going to deeply regret this conversation in the morning.

"Why wouldn't I be? You are the leading cause of blue balls in the entire world." Alex told her.

"Hmm, lovely. I don't know whether to feel complimented or slap your face." Lara said, truthfully.

"Well, Tristen already slapped me, so just feel complimented, eh?"

"What exactly is wrong with Tristen anyways? She attacked me in the bathroom of the Ivy and she had bandages all over her arms. What happened to her?"

"She cut herself."

"What?" Lara gave him a look of disbelief.

"I think she's a self mutilator, or a self distorter. . . or is it a self motivator. . . Well, you know what I'm talking about. . ." He muttered.

"Yes. Were you able to talk to her about her family?"

"No. Why do you care?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well, being the fact I doubt you'll remember this in the morning, Tristen is my half sister?"

"What?! No shit?" He asked.

"It's true." Lara said, amused at his vocabulary.

"Wow, I was screwing Lara Croft's little sister. And the whole time I just thought she was a bitchy odd ball." He took a sip from his drink, then turned back to Lara. "Come to think of it, why does she hate your guts?" He asked.

"I have no idea." Lara shrugged. "Even when her mother was trying to get Tristen to play with me when we were children, Tristen hated me."

"She's probably jealous." Alex commented.

"I don't know what she is, but sane is defiantly not it."

"No kidding."

Over the next hour Lara and Alex talked like old friends. Due to his alcohol consumption, he was very open about his relationship with Tristen and his thoughts on Lara. After a while Lara actually found him to be quiet interesting and even a little cute. His delirious smile and ridiculous expression was almost charming.

***


	6. 180

Author's note: Sisterly Love has been completely reloaded and edited a little for content. For the compete, uncut version, check out my homepage http://mine.at/thelair or http://mine.at/mblow0t5 Enjoy!

***

Tristen looked up at the sound of the door opening. She had been lying awake in her bed after her nightmares prevented her from sleeping. Tristen had been examining her scars and praying that Alex would return and take care of her. Maybe she had been to hard on him. Perhaps she had misheard what he screamed. But every time he thought about it, she heard the same name escape his lips. Lara's name.

"Tristen?" She got out of bed, pulling her robe loosely around herself.

"Alex?" She called back. Tristen walked out of the bedroom, only to find her mortal enemy trying to balance her unconscious boyfriend on her shoulder while she closed the door to the hotel room.

"Lara!" Tristen shouted. Lara jumped, Alex slid out of her arms and onto the floor. He moaned softly from his place on the floor, but didn't move.

"Oh no!" Tristen rushed over to Alex, cradling his head in her lap. "What did you do to him?!" She snapped at Lara.

"_I _didn't do anything. I ran into Mr. West at a bar where he was hell bent on drinking himself into oblivion." Lara explained. "Then he passed out and I brought him back here."

"I don't believe you, you bitch!" Tristen growled. "I've told you to stay away from him. Do I need to get a restraining order?"

"Tristen, you're acting like I'm going to rape him if I see him for more then ten seconds." Lara said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You just might." She spat.

"I'm not even answering that. . ." Lara said.

"Go to hell, Lara! And leave me and Alex along." 

"I will when I'm sure that you are not endangering him or yourself."

"What are you talking about?"

"Those scars. On your arms. Where did you get them?" Lara said, raising an eyebrow at her little sister.

"I, I, accidentally cut myself when I was cooking. . ." Tristen stammered.

"You 'accidentally' cut yourself four separate times on both arms?" Lara asked.

Alex moaned in his sleep. Tristen turned her attention back to him. "Oh, Alex." She glared at Lara. "Help me get him into bed."

"Get Alex West in bed. Perfect. Then my plans for finally sleeping with him will be that much easier." Lara said, sarcastically.

"Fine. Then you stay out here." Tristen snapped. She grabbed Alex by his arms and began to pull him into the bedroom.

Lara shook her head. She walked around the small hotel room, investigating. Dirty clothes strewn over the floor, empty dishes piled high in the sink, a pan full of a suspicious looking substance sitting on the stove and even a untouched box of condoms was sitting on the counter. _Bugger, she needs Hillary more then I do. . . _Lara thought.

Tristen emerged from the bedroom, giving Lara a dirty look. "Now, get out so Alex can sleep."

"No." Lara said, picking up a discarded _Glamour _magazine. "Ooo, twenty ways to a better orgasm." She said, glancing over the article.

"You are such a bitch! Do you really want me to call the police on you?" She snapped.

"Tristen, I'm not leaving until I know that you are going to be alright. And cutting yourself is not 'alright'." She said.

"Look, I was upset, okay?" Tristen said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tristen, what ever happened to your mother?" Lara asked, suddenly.

"She's dead." Tristen spat.

"How did she die?"

"I. . . don't remember." Tristen said, biting her lower lip.

"Yes, you do. How did she die?" Lara urged.

"One of her customers." Tristen mumbled. "He stabbed her to death."

"How old were you?"

"Lara, I don't want to talk about this right now."

"Then when would you like to talk about it?" Lara asked.

"Never! Just leave me alone!" Tristen said, raising her voice.

"Tristen, I think you need to attend therapy."

"How dare you come in here and start telling me how to live my live, you pompous bitch! You think you're so might and mighty, well fuck you!"

"Tristen calm down, I am only trying to help you."

"Bullshit."

Silence fell over the apartment as the two sisters starred at each other for a long while. 

"I can't afford it anyways." Tristen finally bit out.

"I'll pay for it." Lara said.

"I don't need your hand outs."

"Alright then, Tristen. On the edge of my estate there is a home for orphan girls that is looking for an assistant. Are you interested?" Lara asked.

"I don't have anywhere to live."

"You can live in the manor. Hillary can find some things for you do to around the house if you want to earn your keep there." Lara said.

"What about Alex?"

"You can continue to see him if you wish. I have no objections."

"And you won't go after him?"

"Not unless he wakes up with a brand new personality tomorrow." Lara said, dryly.

"Why are you doing this, Lara?"

"Because you're my sister and I don't want to see you hurting yourself."

"I need to think about it."

"Alright, you know my number when you decide." Lara nodded.

"Okay. I'll call you." Tristen said.

"Until then." Lara walked out of the hotel room. She paused once she closed the door. _Tristen, do the right thing._

***

Alex took another sip of the soup Tristen had warmed in the microwave for him since the stove was piled with dirty dishes since the dish pan wasn't big enough. He looked back at her. "Is something wrong?" He finally asked.

Tristen looked up from the napkin that she had been folding, rearranging and refolding for over a half hour. "Huh?" She asked.

"Is something wrong? I mean, I've been conscious for over a half hour and you haven't offered to blow me yet." Alex said, crudely.

"God, you are such an asshole!" Tristen cried. She slammed the napkin down on the kitchen counter and walked back into the bedroom.

"Come on, Tristen. Tell me what's going on. I mean, I wake up and you tell me that Lara Croft drug me in here at two in the morning and I don't remember a damn thing. I would like a bit of an explanation." He said, getting up from his lukewarm bowl of soup and following her into the bedroom. Tristen collapsed on the bed and glared at him.

"Lara offered to let me stay at her house." Tristen mumbled. "She said that I could get a job and help Hillary and she would pay for therapy. . ."

"You're leaving me?" Alex asked.

"Well, we could still go out, but I wouldn't be living with you like we planed."

"Are you going to live with her?"

"I don't know. I'm so confused." She murmured, holding her head.

"Look, maybe you better stay with her." Alex said, not trying to make it sound like he wanted her out of his life, which he did.

"You don't mind?" Tristen asked, looking up innocently at him.

"No, in fact I think it'll be good for you." He gave her a fake smile. Of course, this did mean that he could see Lara more often if he did decide to continue dating her.

"You're the best." Tristen said, standing and wrapping her arms around his neck. Alex hugged her back, ignoring the fact that she had just called him an asshole and smiled.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Tristen broke the embrace and picked up the phone, glancing at Alex with a smile on her lips.

"Hello?" She asked into the receiver.

"Tristen?! Is that you, you little bitch?!" Her manager screamed over the phone.

"What? What did I do?" Tristen asked, she sat down on the bed, wrapping her arms around herself.

"You stupid bitch, you had a gig tonight! Too good to show up you little slut!? You're fired, Tristen! And if you EVER come crawling back, you slut, I'll have you arrested!" Her manager slammed the phone down and Tristen burst into tears.

"Shit. . . Not again." Alex muttered.

"That's it! I can't do this anymore!" Tristen sobbed. "I'm going to live with Lara."

***


	7. Well

Author's note: Sisterly Love has been completely reloaded and edited a little for content. For the compete, uncut version, check out my homepage http://mine.at/thelair or http://mine.at/mblow0t5 Enjoy!

***

"You would not believe the wonderful day I've had." Tristen said, bursting into Lara's room and flopping into the chair in front of her desk. Lara took off her read glasses and looked up from the Memoirs of Cleopatra.

"Do tell." She said, amused at her younger sister.

"Well, first when I got there all the kids were so happy to see me and we had a greet session and I got to talk with the kids and I told them that I was a singer and they all wanted me to sing to them and there was this little girl named Claire who was so adorable!" Tristen said, excited.

Lara pushed the book to the side of her desk, giving her sister her full attention. That morning when she had sent Tristen to the orphanage she felt like her mother the first day of school. Lara had refused to go and had even hid herself in the attic of the manor the night before in a protest of attending school. However, once Lara was actually in school she had a wonderful time and couldn't wait to go back.

"And then we all had lunch, which was really good. Then the girls had some lessons and since Claire was too young for lessons she stayed and helped me do some washing up. She is so adorable." Tristen beamed.

"That's lovely Tristen." Lara smiled. "How were the other ladies in the staff?"

"They were great! Very warm and friendly. I can't wait until tomorrow!" She said. "Oh, I'm going to go tell Bryce." Tristen rushed out of the room without another word in search of her friend. Lara leaned back in her chair and smiled. Something was finally going right for Tristen.

***

"Lara?" Hillary asked, poking his head in the room. "Are you free?"

"Of course." Lara said, putting her book down again. "What can I do for you, Hillary?" She asked.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about Tristen." Hillary said, entering Lara's study and closing the door after him.

"What about her? She's not giving you a hard time, is she?" Lara asked, frowning.

"Oh no, nothing like that, Lara." Hillary assured her, taking a seat in front of her. "I was simply wondering if the continuation of her relationship with Alex West is going to be beneficiary to her." He said.

"What do you mean?" Lara asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I saw the two together yesterday. Tristen went on and on about her new job, Alex was completely ignoring her and kept asking about you, then they had a fight and Alex left." He shook his head. "I don't understand them. Anyways, I don't think staying with Alex would be good for her. They seem to bring out the worst in each other."

"Well, there's not much I can do about her relationship with Mr. West." Lara admitted.

"Maybe you could have a little influence on her. Tristen seems so happy, it would be a shame to ruin all this over a grouchy man." Hillary said.

Lara smiled. "I'll see what I can do."

***

"So, how was work today?" Lara asked, sitting down beside her sister. Tristen was sprawled on the couch in the TV room cuddling a large pillow and nibbling on a bag of Twizzlers. "Tristen? How was work?" Lara repeated when her sister gave no answer.

Tristen wiped the tears from her cheeks and glanced at her sister. "This is my third bag of Twizzlers. How do you think my day went?" She asked.

"What happened? You seemed so happy?"

"It's Alex." Tristen said, miserably.

"What did he do now?"

"He was so rude last night and he didn't care about my job or anything." Tristen said, tears welling in her eyes again. "I thought he would be happy for me, and he didn't even care." She sobbed. 

Lara wrapped her arms around her sister and held her. "It's okay, Tristen. Alex can be a prick at times, can't he?"

"Yes." Tristen muttered, hugging her sister back. "I don't even know why I'm dating him anymore."

"Then why continue to go out with him?"

"You mean, I should dump him?" Tristen asked, pulling back from the embrace.

"Well, if all he's doing is making you miserable then why should you stay with him?"

"I don't know, but I mean, maybe I should give him another chance. I don't think he's adjusted to living without me yet. And we haven't had sex in weeks." Tristen said, biting her lower lip. "Maybe that's what he's so grouchy."

"Are you withholding or something?"

"No, of course not. But with everyone else in the house I didn't think that we should. I mean, I don't want Hillary walking in on us or anything."

"Hillary doesn't barge into bedrooms when you're entertaining male company." Lara said.

"Personal experience?" Tristen winked.

"Well, sometimes. Although, Bryce hate my last boyfriend so I usually went over to his place. Have you been to Alex's new apartment?"

"No. He hasn't invited me over. And the weirdest thing, he smelled like cheap perfume last time I saw him."

Lara raised an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that, he would never cheat on me." Tristen smiled reassuringly.

"Well, if you say so. Oh, by the way, Bryce said something about seeing Lord Of The Rings tonight."

"Oh perfect! I've been dying to see that."

"Come on, let's go track him down." Lara lead her sister out of the TV room, hoping that this one hundred and eighty degree turn in her life wouldn't turn into a three hundred and sixty degree turn.

***


	8. One Step Too Far

Author's note: Sisterly Love has been completely reloaded and edited a little for content. For the compete, uncut version, check out my homepage http://mine.at/thelair or http://mine.at/mblow0t5 Enjoy!

***

Hillary looked up from the silver tea kettle he was polishing when he heard the doorbell ring. Setting the tea kettle down and tossing the damp rag onto the table, he walked over to the door and opened it.

Alex West was standing outside, glancing around the grounds. When he say Hillary standing at the door he muttered a quick; "Is Tristen here?"

"No, I'm afraid she's still at work, Mr. West. She should be home shortly, though."

"That's good. I need to talk to Lara." Alex walked inside, pushing past Hillary. "Where is she?"

"I believe she's in her room. But let me announce you first." But by the time Hillary finished his sentence, Alex was already halfway up the stairs. "Er. . . Never mind. . ." He murmured to himself. Then went back to polishing.

Alex gently knocked on Lara's bedroom door and didn't wait for a response before he entered the room. Lara was stretched out on her tiger print patterned chaise lounge. She was reading from a very thick novel. Lara lifted her head when she heard the door open.

"Alex? What are you doing here?" Lara asked, setting the book down. "Tristen won't be home for another few minutes." 

"I don't want to talk to Tristen." Alex said, plainly. "I'm breaking up with her today."

Lara sighed. "I knew this was going to happen."

"Yeah, well, let's not cry about it. You're the one I want, anyways."

"I beg your pardon?" Lara asked, raising her eyebrow. She knew Alex could be crass, but she didn't think that he was rude enough to break up with her half sister then ask her out ten seconds later.

"You heard what I said." Alex murmured. "So, how about it?"

"Alex," Lara said, shocked by his forwardness and not entirely sure what to say to him. "I can't date you in front of Tristen."

"Well, we can keep it secret." Alex said, sitting down on the floor beside her chair and stroking her leg. 

"No, no we won't." Lara said, removing his hand. "The answer is; no, Alex."

"Why not?" Alex asked, as if he had been expecting her to say that.

"I can't even begin to tell you the reasons." Lara answered, honestly. "And if you don't mind, Tristen will be home soon, so you can wait for her downstairs."

"Come on, Lara, don't be like this." Alex murmured, kissing the inside of her thigh. Lara slapped him.

"Get off and get out of my room." Lara snapped. "God, you can be such a prat at times."

Just then the door swung open and Tristen walked in, waving around a piece of paper. "Look, Lara! I got my first paycheck! Let's go out for dinner!" She raced over to Lara's chair. "Oh, hi Alex. Were we supposed to go out tonight?"

"No, we weren't planning on it. But let's go out and celebrate your new job." Alex said, giving her a fake smile.

"Really?" Tristen asked, blinking. "But last week you said my job was-"

"Well, let's not worry about what I said. Come on, let's go." Alex said, standing up and taking Tristen's arm.

"Wait, Lara has to come to." Tristen said. "I mean, she got me this job and everything. Want to come, Lara?"

"Well, I haven't eaten yet." Lara said, wondering why Tristen would invite her to tag along on her date. "Let's go freshen up. Alex, I'm sure you can wait downstairs." Lara told him curtly, then she and Tristen both walked through the adjoining door to Tristen's room. Lara quietly shut the door after them.

"Why did you invite me to go with you?" Lara asked, as Tristen sat down at her vanity and got out her make up kit from the top drawer. She had only applied foundation today.

"Well, to be truthful, I don't want to be alone with Alex."

"Why not?" Lara asked as Tristen snapped open a compact of eye shadow and began to apply some silver powder to her eyelids. 

"I don't know." Tristen said, shrugging. "I just don't feel comfortable with him."

"Ah."

"Well, if you really want to know, I was doing a lot of thinking today and Alex isn't someone that I want to be with anymore and in fact, I never should have been with him in the first place. I need someone who actually gives a damn about more than himself and how many times he's getting laid in the next week. I mean, he's never been kind to me, he's never been sweet or understanding. Nothing. Let's face facts. Alex West is a jerk. Now that I figured that out, it just seems awkward to be with him. But I'm going to break up with him tonight, though. No reason to drag it on."

"Hmm, I thought you would be a bit more upset about your break up." Lara said, honestly.

"No. I mean, I could never be satisfied with him." Tristen shrugged.

"Well, as long as you're happy." Lara shrugged. "Besides, he started hitting on me. So there's a sure sign that he's the lowest-"

"He did what?!" Tristen practically shouted, throwing down the compact. It fell to the floor, unnoticed.

"I thought you didn't care."

"He was hitting on you?!"

"Yes."

"That, little asshole." Tristen got up from the vanity and stormed downstairs, slamming the door after her. Lara sunk into the chair at the vanity. The next thing Lara heard was Tristen's unrecognizable screams, shortly after, Alex began shouting as well. Lara buried her face in her hands.

***

Lara looked up when she heard the sound of a door slamming. She figured that it was Alex leaving and manor and slowly got to her feet. Lara pushed the door to Tristen's room open and looked out over the railing from the upstairs. Tristen was standing in the middle of the living room in a shocked silence. Tears were streaming down her face, her eye make up ran in dirty streaks to her chin. Lara quietly descended the stairs. She approached her sister and gently wrapped her arm around Tristen's shoulders.

"It's alright, Tristen. He's not worth it anyways." Lara said, softly.

"You don't get it, do you?" Tristen asked, sniffling and using a hand to wipe her tears away.

"Don't get what?" Lara asked, taking a tissue from her pocket and gently dapping at Tristen's tears and running make-up. 

Tristen shoved Lara away and glared at her. "You don't get it!" Tristen shouted. "He didn't want me, he wanted _you_! Everyone wants you! No one cares who the hell _I_ am because you're there!"

"Tristen, calm down-" Lara began.

"Calm down!? No, I won't calm down! Because no matter how good I do something or how much I accomplish _you _are always going be one step ahead of me! No one is ever going to want me because you're there! I hate you, Lara Croft, I hate you!!!!!" Tristen thundered.

Before Lara could stop her, Tristen grabbed her purse and ran from the house. Lara didn't bother to go after her. Even if she did catch up to her, what was she supposed to say? Lara sunk into the love seat and angrily punched a pillow. 

_Hm, doesn't have the same feeling when you punch a man in the face._ Lara observed. Hillary walked into the living room and gently set a tray down on the end table beside the couch, then glanced at Lara. 

"Would you like a spot of tea." Hillary asked.

"Certainly." Lara said, sitting back.__


End file.
